It wasn't just the ghost of her parents nagging at her; Smith had a bad experience with pot in college. But she decided to give it a whirl and quickly settled on a recipe: blending 10 tablespoons of ground marijuana with 1 cup of oil and downing a few teaspoons of the concoction at night.

Smith also takes hits on a vaporizer and she's part of a study on the effects of juiced cannabis. None of it gets her high, she says, but she feels a certain peace when she closes her eyes. She sleeps better.

Smith, who once taught social studies in the Burrillville schools and coached swimming at Scituate High School, was forced to quit work for good in 2007. But she has found purpose in medical marijuana advocacy.

She frequently speaks with new patients nervous about the drug. And she is a vocal supporter of the compassion centers. They will help those without access, she says, but they could even come in handy for those who grow on their own; Smith has been robbed of her crop twice and a backup would mean medical security.

Whatever the advantages of the compassion centers, though, Smith clearly has a fondness for the culture of the individual grower.

As the sun sets over the family's sprawling organic garden out back, she makes her way to a chair lift at the top of the basement stairs and glides down to show off her grow room.

It is a two-stage garden. One compartment is filled with immature plants in the vegging stage — some White Widow here, some OJ there. And in the flowering compartment, encased in foam board, a fan blows on a set of tall, mature, vibrant green plants.

The gardener gently presses a leaf between her thumb and pointer finger and looks up at a visitor. "It's like they're your babies," she says.

THE HEARING

It's a sunny Monday morning and about 150 people are crammed into a basement auditorium at the Rhode Island Health Department for a public hearing on the proposed compassion centers.

The applicants — Johansson included — have lined up patients aplenty to testify on their behalf. But it's clear where the hearing is headed.

Those who have put in the time — assembling professional applications and lining up political support — fare best. And those who have not stumble.

Mayor Allan Fung, a Republican, and Democratic State Representative Peter Palumbo, both from Cranston, raise concerns about a pair of proposed compassion centers in their city; a failure to meet with local police is a red flag.

But Johansson fares the worst. Albert DiFiore, a lawyer for the town of West Warwick, talks of the minister's persistent zoning problems and labels his application a "fiasco."

Johansson, afterward, is deflated. "I don't think we have a chance at all," he says.

The minister worries aloud about the fate of medical marijuana's grassroots sensibility. And while the underground will survive in some form — Leach will keep growing, and so will Smith — it is clear that one chapter has ended. And another begins.

Not tough enough? Amid massive deficits and escalating pension problems, a certain tough guy chic has taken hold in State Houses across the country.

The next Scott Brown? Republican Scott Brown's victory last month in the race for the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat has every two-bit GOP hopeful in the Northeast claiming the mantle of the pick-up truck populist.

Cicilline on the hot seat It's been a brutal couple of months for Providence mayor-turned-freshman Congressman David Cicilline.

Chafee's Smith hill prospects Lincoln Chafee rides into office with a weak mandate, at best. The governor-elect won just over one-third of the vote, barely edging his Republican rival for the throne.

The power of money While a cadre of conservative Democrats continues to conspire with Washington's mendacious Republican minority to block national health-care reform, the nation's largest health-benefits company — amusingly called WellPoint — is going about its business of screwing policyholders and scoring record profits in the process.

Down ballot drama The race for governor and the scramble to replace retiring Representative Patrick J. Kennedy have obsessed Rhode Island's chattering class. But all the talk has obscured an intriguing set of "down ballot" races for lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state.

LIBERAL WARRIOR | April 10, 2013 When it comes to his signature issues — climate change, campaign finance reform, tax fairness — Whitehouse makes little secret of his approach: marshal the facts, hammer the Republicans, and embarrass them into action.

AT BROWN, A WIN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIVISTS | April 11, 2013 A key Brown University oversight committee has voted to recommend the school divest from coal, delivering a significant victory to student climate change activists.

HACKING POLITICS: A GUIDE | April 03, 2013 Last year, the Internet briefly upended everything we know about American politics.

BREAK ON THROUGH | March 28, 2013 When I spoke with Treasurer Gina Raimondo this week, I opened with the obligatory question about whether she'll run for governor. "I'm seriously considering it," she said. "But I think as you know — we've talked about it before — I have little kids: a six-year-old, an eight-year-old. I'm a mother. It's a big deal."

THE LIBERAL CASE FOR GUNS | March 27, 2013 The school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut spurred hope not just for sensible gun regulation, but for a more nuanced discussion of America's gun culture. Neither wish has been realized.